Toy for forming a continuous stream of bubbles



1963 w. F. HELLMAN 3,100,947

TOY FOR FORMING A CONTINUOUS STRE AM OF BUBBLES Filed D60. 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q NTOR. 7 64 ifrmrf. g /[721422 BY 7 7 W 1963 F. HELLMAN 3,100,947

TOY FOR FORMING A CONTINUOUS STREAM OF BUBBLES Filed Dec. 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,100,947 TOY FOR FORMING A CONTINUOUS STREAM OF BUBBLES Werner F. Hellman, 4417 N. Maiden Ave., Chicago, 111.

Filed Dec. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 79,345 1 Claim. (Cl. 46-8) This invention relates to a toy for forming a continuous stream of bubbles.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a toy which when operated will discharge a continuous stream of bubbles.

Another object of this invention is to provide a battery operated toy which may be conveniently held in a childs hands and which when operated will form and discharge a continuous stream of bubbles.

Another object of this invention is to provide a battery operated toy which is generally of the shape and size of a conventional flashlight so that it may be readily carried by a child; and which when actuated will form and discharge a continuous stream of bubbles.

Bubble forming toys have always provided a fascinaticn and play value for children. The object of this invention is to provide a toy which will automatically form bubbles and discharge them in a continuous stream without anyeffort on the part of the child, merely by closing as'witch.

Other objects will become apparent -as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the toy.

FIGURE 2 is an assembled perspective view of the mechanism. 7

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the lower section of the housing.

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the center of the toy.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged section taken on lines 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a broken perspective view of the blower.

FIGURE 7 is a front elev-ational view of the blower.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken on lines 3-8 of PTGURE 4, and

FIGURE 9 is a view of a modification.

The housing 19 is formed of two hollow longitudinal half sections comprising an upper half section 12 and a lower half section 14, which after the parts, to be subsequently described, are inserted are connected together by suitably spaced threaded fastening elements '16 and 18.

The rear portion 2%) of the housing ll is cylindrically shaped and of a circumference so that it may be held in a childs hand, while the front portion 22 is enlarged to accommodate the blower and most of the operating mechanism. The bubbles are blown out .through an enlarged opening 24 in the front of the housing.

The front 2-6 of the lower section 14 extends forwardly of the front of the upper half section '12. The front of the upper section 12 terminates in an arcuate shaped edge 28, thus providing the enlarged opening 24.

The interior of the front portion of'the lower half section 14 is provided with a well portion 30 which includes a transversely vertically extending Wall 32 with "Ice metal fingers 40 which removably retain a small dry cell battery 42 which furnishes the power for the motor. A transverse wall 44 divides the front and rear portions of the lower half section '14 and this wall has an arcuate 5 shaped cutout 45.

a forwardly horizontally extending flange 33 and a hori- The upper half section is also provided with a transverse wall 46 with an arcuate shaped cutout 47, which wall alines with the transverse wall 44 on the lower section to form a circular opening dividing the front and rear of the housing and to accommodate the small electric motor 48 therein.

The motor 48 operates a blower uni-t generally indicated at 56. The blower unit includes a blower housing 52 whichhas an upwardly and forwardly extending duct 54 throughwhich the forced air is discharged. The housing has an enlarged opening 53 at the front thereof. Supported on the motor shaft 56 within the housing is a disc 57 which has spaced blades 58. The rear wall of the blower housing has a circular opening 59 bounded by a flange 6%) to accommodate and support the motor 48 so that the motor and blower form an integral unit.

The motor 43 and the supporting flange 69 are supported inside the circular opening of the transverse wall 4446 of the housing. The motor 43 and the blower 50 are, however, secured to the upper half section 12 by a plurality of fastening members 62 extending through the upper transverse wall 46 and secured to the rear wall of the blower housing 50.

The reduction gears and the rotating disc, now to be described, are all connected so that they are likewise supported by the upper half section 12 of the housing. Thus, after the parts are secured to the upper half section of the housing, the upper and lower half sections may be readily secured together by the fastening elements 16 and 18 previously described.

Secured to the front of the motor shaft as is a pinion 64 which drives :a chain of reduction gears generally indicated at 66, which gears are supported on a frame generally indicated at 68, which frame is supported by a connecting member 70, one end of which is secured to the front of the blower housing and the other to the reduction gear frame 68, as best seen in FTGURES 2 and 4.

The reduction gears as drive a shaft 72 which extends forwardly of the frame 68 and to which is fixedly secured a' disc74 to be rotated thereby. The disc 74 has a plurality of spaced circular openings 76, each opening being bounded by a forwardly extending annular flange 77.

As the motor 48 perates, air will enter the blower 54 through the housing openings 11 and the front of the blower housing and will be forced by the blower to be discharged through the restricted duct 54 forwardly thereof in a continuous stream of air. Simultaneously, the disc 74 will be rotating through the reduction gears 66, and as the disc 74 rotates it will rotate through the well 30' and the solution therein will form a thin film over the openings 76. As the disc openings 76' of the disc '74 move in alinernent with the outlet of the duct 54, the air blown therefrom will engage the film of liquid, adhering across the opening 7s and cansei-t to leave the disc in the form of a bubble.

-With the continued rotation of the disc 74 through the well 3i), the bubble forming solution is forming a film across the openings 76 and is being blown away by the air coming from the duct 54 in the form of bubbles, thus, 'a continuous stream of bubbles is being discharged from the toy. The circular flanges 77 bounding the openings76 increase the surface area to which the film can lower half section 14 is provided with a pair of spaced battery supporting members 38, each having bowed spring adhere, thus more positively assuring =a film across the openings 74. By varying the size of the openings 74 on the disc different sized bubbles may be formed, thus it might be advisable to have openings of various sizes on the disc to produce large and small sized bubbles.

Any conventionalmeans may be used for opening and closing the circuit from the battery to the motor. The positive pole of the battery 42 is connected to the motor 48. A conductor 80 is secured to the supporting memhere 38, with one end of the conductor in engagement with the negative pole of the battery 42. The other end 82 of the conductor is to be engaged by the slide member 84 .to move it incontact with the conductor 86 leading to the motor 48. The slide member 84 is supported in the lower half section of the housing and when it is slid so that its cammed surface engages the end 82 of the conductor 80 it will close the circuit between conductors 80 and 86 to operate the motor 48. Any conventional flashlight means may be used for this purpose.

Any bubble forming solution may he used. If a soap solution is used, the rotation of the disc within the well 30 will produce a foaming solution which produces more and better bubbles. Since the air stream is very regular and constant, the weakest' bubble solution may be used eifectively. The forced air striking the film across the openings 76 will cause a bubble to be formed and ejected forwardly of the toy. Each opening 76 on the disc 74 produces more than a single bub ble; five or more bubbles may he formed by the film across a single opening 76. The well 30 may be refilled with the solution through the front opening 24.

FIGURE 9 shows a modification in which a heating element 90 extends across the air discharge opening of the duct 54 to heat the discharged air before it strikes the film. The heating element 90 is connected in any conventional manner with the circuit so that it will he energized when the circuit is closed by the slide member 84. The heated air will cause the discharged bubble to rise as it leaves the toy;

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made from the foregoing Without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A portable toy bubble forming device comprising a housing having a cylindrical shaped handle portion at the rear and an enlarged portion forwardly of said handle portion, said handle portion having a diameter as to be grasped and held by the hand of a child, a blower and a rotatable bubble forming member supported within said enlarged portion of said housing with said rotatable bubble forming member positioned forwardly of said blower and in line with the discharge of air from said blower, a dry cell battery positioned within the handle portion of said casing, a small battery operated motor positioned in said housing between said blower and said battery, means forwardly of said motor and operated by said motor for rotating said rotatable bub :ble forming member, said blower adapted to be operated by said motor, a switch supported by said housing and in electrical circuit with said motor and battery so that when the .circuit is closed by said switch the motor will operate said blower and simultaneously operate said means to rotate said rotatable bubble iorming member and cause a stream of air to be ejected from said blower against said rotatable bubble forming member, means for containing a bubble forming solution inside said enlarged portion of the housing and in the path of said rotatable bubble forming member so that said rotatable bubble forming member picks up the bubble forming solution and moves it in the path of the discharged air so that a continuous stream of bubbles is produced and ejected from said toy.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 814,889 Tacy Mar. 13, 1906 1,020,708 Marshall Mar. 19, 1912 2,412,732 Holman Dec. 17, 1946 2,452,794 Saachy Nov. 2, 1948 2,547,825 King Apr. 3, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 487,367 Canada. Oct. 21, 1952 487,368 Canada Oct. 21, 1952 487,369 Canada t Oct. :21, 1952 

